December 08, 2012, 9:30PM

St. Bernard Parish voters Saturday approved a 10-year, 20-mill property tax to support the parish fire department. Amid parish budget woes, Parish President Dave Peralta had said he would cut 79 firefighters if the millage did not pass. The millage is expected to provide the fire department with about $6 million a year. Combined with a current tax of... Full story »

December 08, 2012, 1:18PM

A 20-mill fire tax is on the ballot along with referendums for a parish employee residency requirement and a rededication of a sales tax for garbage collection expenses. Weigh in with your opinions by casting votes in one of three NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune polls. Full story »

December 06, 2012, 4:25PM

A jam-packed St. Bernard Parish public forum this week presented the parish in a stark light compared to its neighbors New Orleans, St. Tammany, Jefferson and Plaquemines. The forum examined ways parish real estate, population and land use have changed, for the better and worse, during the past 15 years and beyond, from Hurricane Katrina to decades before, all the way back to the 1960s. Full story »

December 04, 2012, 6:17PM

The St. Bernard Parish sheriff's deputy who provided security for St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta and recently drew the ire of Sheriff James Pohlmann has been hired by parish government as chief of operation for the roads department. Jarrod Gourgues' move from the Sheriff's Office to parish government appears to have been spurred at least in part by October's seizure of documents from a Chalmette storage unit leased by former Parish President Craig Taffaro. Full story »

December 03, 2012, 9:50AM

St. Bernard Parish on Monday night will hold its first community meeting that will help form the basis of the St. Bernard Parish Comprehensive Master Land Use and Zoning Plan. Please come to help protect the values and create the future you desire," asks a recent parish announcement. Full story »

November 30, 2012, 6:40PM

St. Bernard Parish voters will be asked Dec. 8 to decide a 20-mill tax increase that would generate an estimated $6 million annually, a windfall supporters say will put the department on sound financial ground and protect and possibly improve residents' fire protection rating. If the tax fails, parish officials say, the department will face massive layoffs and cuts. Full story »

November 29, 2012, 3:00PM

Council Chairman Guy McInnis, who introduced the Dec. 8 ballot proposal to rededicate the half-cent sales tax, says the measure would allow the parish to use any extra funds, currently dedicated only for sanitation, to help pay for other parish services. Full story »

November 29, 2012, 2:51PM

St. Bernard Parish government employee residency requirements are on tap if voters approve an amendment to the parish's charter. The measure is one of three local referendums parish voters will decide Dec. 8. Full story »

November 27, 2012, 2:20PM

St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta is facing a recall effort launched by Peter Rupp, whose wife Peralta fired soon after taking office. Rupp, who lost a runoff for a St. Bernard Parish Council seat by 16 votes last year, began the recall effort last week. Full story »